Monday, November 30, 2015

Here are two pastels that I began in my last workshop with the Colorado Pastel Society. These are simple compositions really but I made a real effort to push the color and complexity to create vibrancy and interest.

Both will be exhibiting at the Lone Tree Arts Center, CO with my fellow 'Expand Artists.'
Here are the exhibit details:

It was a big crowd for the Annual Gallery Anniversary and Holiday Reception at Mirada Fine Art in the foothills just west of Denver. This is an amazing gallery in what was formerly a log cabin trading post. All of the gallery artists were exhibiting and you can see a number of my oils behind the patrons here. Note the log ceiling in the photo. The gallery owner, Steve Sonnen is in the center wearing glasses.

Wood at the Lake is the pastel I did as a demo for the Pastel Society of Colorado and it turned out to be the study for the 24 x 24 oil on panel. After I got the pastel home, I began the oil and almost finished it before bringing it to the Pastel Society Workshop the following weekend. The workshop was for oils and pastels, so I brought the unfinished oil along.

I got very close to the finish but kept making it too tight. It was illuminating to discuss and work on it wth the class, pointing out the problems and possible solutions.

Once the oil was in the studio I let it dry and with a very concentrated effort, I resolved the transition between the background and the left edge of the trees. I kept adding more complexity but not in an illustrative way. Both of these images are now available as limited edition giclee prints.

It is unusual for me to do an oil this small but it is part of a display for my upcoming exhibit in the Denver metro. I'll be in Houston for my one-man show on the same December 4 date.

Monday, November 16, 2015

This is a pastel I did as a demo for the Pastel Society of Colorado. It was stimulating to work in front of a group of pastellists. Frankly, it came together slowly as I was discussing the process and digressing on other topics. But in the last few minutes, big moves were made and all came out well.

There are a few spaces left for my last 2015 workshop in the Denver Metro. The information follows below. I hope to see you there!

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Here's an interactive quiz from the NY Times

It's always interesting to see what the current art auction markets are doing. Have fun with the interactive quiz. The questions follow below.

Ken

By DANIEL McDERMON Nov. 10, 2015

Via Christie’s

A painting by Amedeo Modigliani, “Nu Couché,” sold on Monday night for $170,405,000, placing it among the most expensive artworks ever purchased at auction. The sale, at Christie’s in New York, saw 34 works change hands for a total of $491 million, including fees. But auctions can be unpredictable. See how you match up below. RELATED ARTICLE

Which of these works of art sold for more at auction in New York in the last week?

PABLO PICASSO

“La Gommeuse,” 1901

OR

PABLO PICASSO

“Nu aux Jambes Croisées,” 1903

YAYOI KUSAMA

“Infinity Nets OPRT,” 2004

OR

DAMIEN HIRST

“Rhodanine,” 2008-11

HENRY MOORE

“Mother and Child With Apple,” Conceived in 1956 and cast during the artist's lifetime

Guatier Deblonde, portrait of Yayoi Kusama in her Tokyo studio in 2013. Photo: Courtesy of David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY.

The second list shows the top 100 living artists based on the total value of secondary market sales from January 2011 through mid-October. It ranks artists by the total value of works sold and indicates the number of individual lots. The handful of female artists on this list include Kusama, Cindy Sherman, Julie Mehretu, Cady Noland, and Vija Celmins, among others.

This list also features a number of Chinese contemporary artists who have proved to be top earners in recent years, including Zeng Fanzhi, Cui Ruzhuo, Zhang Xiaogang, and Zhou Chunyu accounting for four, or roughly half, of the top ten.

Also notable is the ranking of Howard Terpning, a painter who is prized by Western art collectors. Terpning is known for creating realistic, highly detailed historic paintings depicting 19th-century Native American life. He ranks at number 91, with cumulative sales of over $22 million for just 83 works.

About Me

Ken Elliott works in a variety of media: oils, pastels, monotypes, etchings and collages. His work is in numerous public and private collections in the US and throughout the world.
Some of his landscape paintings and pastels are reproduced as dramatic giclee prints.
Email:
Website: www.kenelliott.com
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